Trade ministry asked to achieve 10 percent export growth

Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to achieve a 10 percent export growth this year, during a conference reviewing the sector’s six-month activities on July 12.

He hailed the ministry for achievements in export and administrative reform, amid the global economic downturn, as well as drought and saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

According to the PM, some of the sector’s enterprises have played vanguard roles in key areas such as energy and food.

Pointing out shortcomings that need to be fixed, he admitted that the industrial production index is growing slowly, while regulations have yet to meet demand for global economic integration.

The PM suggested the sector improving the performance of the National Competition Council, prevent monopoly and price dumping, fine-tuning strategies for spearhead industries, and providing all possible support for the private economy.

In order to renovate State management and engage the private sector in the country’s indutrialisation and modernisation, State-owned enterprises should be made smaller while private entreprises grow continuously on the back of sound policies, he said.

Mentioning lessons learn from the Formosa incident, the PM asked leaders of ministries, agencies and localities to be responsible to the Party, State, the PM and the people if a similar environmental incident occurs again, saying that development goals mustn’t be traded for people’s lives.

Giving his opinions on specific measures, the leader requested focusing on industry, trade, services, and increasing oil and gas production.

Manufacturing is the most important solution to boosting growth, he said, adding that each sector must increase production and improve competitiveness.

In the campaign “Vietnamese prioritise Vietnamese goods”, the retail system should be expanded with counterfeits being eliminated.

At the conference, he demanded the ministry restructure itself after considering that its apparatus is too cumbersome with 30 departments and department-level units, 10 universities, 22 colleges, and 11 corporations and groups.

On the occasion, he reminded the ministry staff to raise their sense of responsibility to fight corruption and wastefulness, and deal with violations, toward successfully fulfilling assigned tasks.

In the first six months of this year, the country’s gross domestic product grew 5.52 percent, lower than the same period last year.

The index of industrial production increased by 10.1 percent while total goods and services consumption hit 9.5 percent growth./.